Section: US & Canada

Since 2001, the United States has tried virtually every strategy available to persuade Pakistan’s army to take the threat of militancy more seriously, but 12 years and $28 billion in aid later, all the American approaches are widely viewed as having failed. First, the Bush administration heaped praise on former Pakistani President Pervez...

Speaking to reporters in Moscow on Thursday, Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, claimed that economic sanctions were not primarily a response to the annexation of Crimea but part of a long-running plot by Western powers to weaken his nation and steal its natural resources. …read more Source: The Huffington...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered his cabinet ministers to stop trading using the Russian rouble. Instead, the country – who is one of Russia’s closest allies – will trade only in dollars or euros, after Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Thursday his country may be on the verge of a two year...

By David Francis and Sabine Muscat The United States is missing key allies in its fight against the Islamic State. Some 1,500 American troops are preparing to deploy to the Middle East to retrain Iraqi security forces to take the fight to the Islamic State next year. Turning Iraqis into a tribal fighting force of roughly 5,000 proficient enough...

How well do you remember the most important financial and economic events of 2014? You’ve got the chance to find out now: Goldman Sachs’ end-of-year crossword just came out, and it’s great, again. Last year’s effort by Goldman was described as “the nerdiest crossword puzzle of all time”. Here’s hoping...

It’s been a turbulent week around the world, between plunging oil prices, a swinging ruble, and signs from the U.S. Fed of an earlier than expected rate hike. There’s more where that came from this morning, as an early, Fed-fuelled “Santa Rally” continues in Asia and Europe, and the ruble vacillates in the wake of a combative annual...

From Russian political stability to the value of Canada’s oil sands companies, there is a lot riding on the price of oil. But economic analysts are proposing very different views on whether, when and how much the price of oil will rise, Don Pittis says. …read more Source:...

BERLIN (AP) — German consumer confidence is continuing to improve, supported by expectations of increasing economic strength and a greater willingness to make purchases. The GfK research group said Friday its forward-looking consumer climate index rose to 9 points for January from 8.7 points in December. GfK says consumers still have uncertainty...